The Announcement of The 18th Advanced Fieldcourse in Ecology and Conservation – XTBG (AFEC-X 2026)

Application deadline: until 15:00 on August , 2026

The loss of biodiversity and its impacts on human society have raised global concerns. As fundamental disciplines for understanding and conserving biodiversity, ecology and conservation biology have achieved remarkable advancements in recent years. Concurrently, enhancing the professional capacity of research institutions, conservation organizations and sustainable development agencies—while cultivating high-caliber conservation and research talents—has become a critical long-term mechanism for addressing environmental challenges.

Since 2009, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (XTBG) has held the annual international training program Advanced Fieldcourse in Ecology and Conservation, XTBG (AFEC-X), offering modules in theory and practice of ecology and conservation. The course is open to postgraduate students, early-career researchers and relevant practitioners from China, South and Southeast Asian countries, and further afield. Through systematic theoretical instruction and field-based practical training, AFEC-X aims to (1) Enhance participants' professional competencies in ecology and conservation; (2) Foster academic collaboration among young researchers and institutions; (3) Develop human resources for global biodiversity conservation; and (4) Promote regional sustainable development and international cooperation.

Over the past 17 years, AFEC-X has received a total of 2035 applications from more than 600 institutions across 65 countries, with 470 participants from 33 countries having successfully completed the full curriculum.

The 18th Advanced Fieldcourse in Ecology and Conservation, XTBG (AFEC-X 2026) is now open for registration.

01Training Arrangements

■ Training dates

Oct 15 to Nov 27, 2026 (44 days)

■ VenueXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesXishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, 666303 China

■ Target students

The course offers 30 slots for graduate students, early-career researchers, and conservation practitioners.

■ Training language

English

02Training Content

All the courses will be mainly instructed by professors and visiting professors from XTBG working in the fields of Ecology and Conservation Biology.

Module 1

Frontier studies about Ecology and Conservation Biology Tropical Biology, Climate Change Biology, Conservation Biology, Plant-Animal Interactions.

Module 2

Research technologiesExperimental Design and Statistics, Forest Permanent Plot Establishment Techniques, Community Ecology and Forest Canopy Ecology Field Experience.

Module 3

Independent projectsWork in small groups to independently complete projects, including experimental design, data collection and analysis, report writing, and presentation.

03 Core Instructors

CHEN Jin

Professor CHEN Jin,the Director of the Academic Committee，Chief Scientist of Environmental Education Center and PI at the Ecology & Evolution of Plant-Animal Interaction at XTBG. He has served as the director of XTBG from 2005 to 2021. The main research directions of him are the ecology and evolution of the plant-animal interaction, environmental/scientific education and conservation biology. He has published more than 100 papers in international journals such as Cell, Nature Communications, Ecological Monographs, Ecology, and Environmental Education Research.

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Akihiro Nakamura

Professor Akihiro Nakamura, PI at the Forest Canopy Ecology Group of XTBG, an internationally renowned tropical forest insect ecologist, and the editorial board member of Biodiversity and Conservation and Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. His research fields are mainly in Community Ecology, Entomology, Biodiversity protection, etc. and the key research direction is the response and adaptation mechanism of forest canopy biodiversity to different habitats and climate change. About 70 academic papers have been published in international academic journals such as Science, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Ecology Letters, Journal of Biogeography Ecological Entomology, etc.

Kyle W. Tomlinson

Deputy Director of the Centre for Integrative Conservation, and the Principal Investigator of the Open Ecosystems Team at XTBG, works on landscape conservation, savanna ecology, plant defences, and functional trait diversity. Kyle is an experienced statistics instructor and has been invited to run statistics workshops during the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) annual meetings, and during AFEC-X since 2013. He has published over 80 articles in international academic journals including Biological Reviews, Nature Plants, New Phytologist, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and Journal of Ecology, as well as several book chapters. Since 2020 Kyle has been an associate editor of the Journal of Ecology.

Prof. Christos Mammides

Senior researcher of the Wildlife Interactions and Conservation Team at XTBG. Christos is a conservation scientist interested in understanding anthropogenic effects on biodiversity to develop evidence-based conservation strategies. His research examines the effectiveness of protected areas and other area-based conservation measures in reducing human pressures on biodiversity. Christos also conducts research in soundscape ecology, with a focus on developing methods for analysing acoustic data to monitor animal communities. He has a strong interest in how novel technologies, including large language models, can support ecology and conservation when applied responsibly. He serves in editorial roles for several international journals in ecology and conservation science and is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas.

Prof. SONG Xiaoyang

Senior researcher of the Southwest Transboundary Biodiversity and Ecological Security Team and the community ecologist at XTBG, Xiaoyang's research focuses on forest ecology and biodiversity. He is intimately familiar with the rainforests of Xishuangbanna and is an experienced engineer in establishing forest dynamics plots. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals such as Ecology Letters, New Phytologist, Ecology, and Journal of Ecology. SONG Xiaoyang serves as an editor for Plant Diversity and the youth editor for the Journal of Plant Ecology. Since 2023, he has been teaching forest community ecology for AFEC-X.

04Training Venues

Venue 1: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China

XTBG, an institution directly under the CAS, was founded in 1959. XTBG is a non-profit, comprehensive botanical garden involved in scientific research, plant diversity conservation, and public science education. XTBG promotes science development and environmental conservation through implementing scientific research on ecology and plant diversity conservation, horticultural exhibition, and public education. XTBG envisions to be a base for plant diversity conservation and ecological studies, and Noah’s Ark for tropical plants.

Venue 2.Xishuangbanna tropical rain forest ecosystem positioning research station，XTBG

Founded in 1959, the station is located in Menglun Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, at an altitude of 570 m above sea level. It is the only tropical rainforest ecosystem research station in the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) and one of the national key field scientific observation networks (CNERN) test stations. The station is mainly engaged in long-term comprehensive observation and research on the structure, function and dynamics of tropical rainforest ecosystem.

Course fee: No course fee will be charged

2.Financial Responsibilities

(1) Participant-Covered Costs

Trainees are responsible for: Round-trip travel expenses to XTBG (including but not limited to transportation, accommodations, and visa fees)；Personal expenditures (e.g., personal life supplies, medications)

(2) Organizer-Covered Costs

The host will provide: Lodging and meals during the training period; All course-related local transportation.

Course credits: AFEC-X has obtained accreditation from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS). Graduate students from UCAS and institutions affiliated to Chinese Academy of Sciences will receive 6 course credits towards their degree program upon completion of the AFEC-X full-time study. Other participants may be able to arrange recognition of these credits by their home institutions.

Registration

Until 15:00 Aug 5, 2026 (UTC+8)

To apply, please scan QR code below

Contact

XIA Xue (xiaxue@xtbg.org.cn, 0691-8716600)